tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post8261633821398784743..comments2024-02-25T08:54:26.302-08:00Comments on Eclectic (at Best): The Scars of War, Vienna 1947Dan Durninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10639064524903151404noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-81329425010567098642022-06-15T04:59:37.116-07:002022-06-15T04:59:37.116-07:00Stumbled upon your page while seeking information ...Stumbled upon your page while seeking information about damage to Vienna in WWII. Thanks so much for this. I lived there with my family during the Cold War (1965-'69), and your comments and photos add quite a meaningful layer to my understanding. -- Erica SmithAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-77425580757440106292021-10-10T11:43:34.883-07:002021-10-10T11:43:34.883-07:00Thank you for your comment. I do not have other in...Thank you for your comment. I do not have other information about WWII damage in Vienna, but I'm sure detailed information can be unearthed. Good luck in doing so. In conversations some fifty years ago with a Viennese woman who had lived there during the war, she told me a few anecdotes that have stuck with me. One, she told me after I bought an old Cuckoo clock at a used goods store. She said she hated such clocks because the Cuckoo clock sound interrupted regular radio broadcasts before warnings were given of impending air raids. Another story, the family had a Czech maid who lived with them. After Russians occupied the city, everyone, including the maid, holed up in their dwellings, but after a while got tired of being cooped up. So one day, against the entreaties of her employers, the maid ventured to the Vienna Woods for some recreation. She never returned and, as far as they knew, her body was never identified. The final anecdote was about a time when the Russians were taking the city street by street. The family was hiding the basement of a multi-story building (either in Doebling or the 8th district) and remembered they had left their valuable jewelry in their apartment. Despite, fighting going on around them, she -- then a very young woman -- and her aunt crawled up the dark stairs to their bedroom to get the items but their movement attracted rifle fire from the soldiers outside. Fortunately, both got back to the basement without harm. The woman who told the stories has been dead for many years, and few Viennese with WWII experiences remain. Good luck with your novel.Dan Durninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639064524903151404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-42952343276517490672021-10-10T11:41:35.670-07:002021-10-10T11:41:35.670-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Dan Durninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639064524903151404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-77544728688866411702021-10-07T03:14:46.547-07:002021-10-07T03:14:46.547-07:00Most interesting article. Referring to World War 2...Most interesting article. Referring to World War 2, I am trying to establish where in Vienna most bombing damage occurred, where in civilian areas most bombing damage occurred, and then also where combat among German and Soviet armies was most pronounced and where the damage was greatest. Again civilian areas are of most interest. Also especially interested in damage in the Innere Stadt and Dobling. If there are sources you can refer me, I would be most grateful. I do not speak German or Russian, but I can make sense of maps and photos. I have 1945 maps from the Library of Congress. I am trying to write a novel, which is to dignify the progress of an amateur.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18278807734398165261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-4346833114700912042021-01-01T20:27:14.643-08:002021-01-01T20:27:14.643-08:00I was in Wien at IES during the academic year of 1...I was in Wien at IES during the academic year of 1970-1971; lived first in Hietzing, not far from Schonbrunn, then in Poetzleindorf. In Hietzing, in the garden of our building on Wattmangasse there were the remains of some sort of gun emplacement, so neighborhood kids told me. It was a favorite play spot for them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11317826998074629173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-47431291557370422562020-12-01T14:34:13.150-08:002020-12-01T14:34:13.150-08:00Thank you for these pictures. My grandfather lived...Thank you for these pictures. My grandfather lived in Vienna and from what I understand, owned the electric company. He died at the Eastern Front in Russia. I’m writing a book about it. Your pictures help me visualize the times then. Evelyn Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12085763982515386634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-38203536494178060622020-12-01T14:33:11.328-08:002020-12-01T14:33:11.328-08:00Thank you for these pictures. My grandfather lived...Thank you for these pictures. My grandfather lived in Vienna and from what I understand, owned the electric company. He died at the Eastern Front in Russia. I’m writing a book about it. Your pictures help me visualize the times then. Evelyn Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12085763982515386634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-65691986047171857872019-01-14T06:45:09.689-08:002019-01-14T06:45:09.689-08:00Thank you for these photos. I go back to Vienna at...Thank you for these photos. I go back to Vienna at least once or twice a year and always look for the areas that have been bombed out. I've been by almost all of these areas and will enjoy seeking these out again on my next trip. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11483904861784053179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-22057065394424295772019-01-07T14:51:35.166-08:002019-01-07T14:51:35.166-08:00Interesting article. It should be noted that much ...Interesting article. It should be noted that much of the heavy damage was not caused during the siege (by the Red Army) but by aerial bombing (Anglo-American) prior to it. Of course, it was war.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02112050645343915025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-36637887474012964982018-12-21T07:06:44.587-08:002018-12-21T07:06:44.587-08:00All, This all makes very interesting reading. I st...All, This all makes very interesting reading. I stumbled across these articles whilst researching an Austrian stamp from the period that shows the bomb damaged St Stephens church and spire. If you'd like to view the stamp then please explain how to upload images onto this site ? The Rough Ashlarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04243063095704356538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-47987459131555009772015-11-23T13:33:00.443-08:002015-11-23T13:33:00.443-08:00Thank you for your very interesting postThank you for your very interesting postarnienellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17845830610067363557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-14087414382838415732015-10-22T13:47:20.034-07:002015-10-22T13:47:20.034-07:00Thanks a lot Dan! I have cited one of your photos ...Thanks a lot Dan! I have cited one of your photos in my blog here: http://chentravelstory.blogspot.co.at/2015/09/austria-viennese-old-apartments-telling.html, as well as my Chinese blog: http://lichen0320.blogspot.co.at/2015/09/150-wahringerstrae-ground-floor.htmlchentravelstoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12098747444069636894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-75546954081266392852015-10-06T22:12:34.534-07:002015-10-06T22:12:34.534-07:00Good luck in your search. Do you have the Dobling ...Good luck in your search. Do you have the Dobling address of your grandparents? If the main problem is that you are missing the address, you might try the following website, which has names and addresses in Vienna for several years in the 1930s: http://www.digital.wienbibliothek.at/wbrobv/periodical/structure/248272 Also, you might want to look at this posting by someone who was also looking for their grandparents last dwelling in Vienna: http://ask.metafilter.com/25714/Tracking-Down-An-Address-In-1939-Vienna<br />If I can help with your search let me know. I will be Vienna during November and if it would be helpful I could take a picture of the dwelling at any address-- assuming you find one and will not soon be in Vienna yourself. L Dan Durninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639064524903151404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-51279627862281972092015-10-04T17:52:51.507-07:002015-10-04T17:52:51.507-07:00Thank you for posting the historical information a...Thank you for posting the historical information about Vienna.<br /><br />I'm an author doing research for the background of a character whose grandparents were wealthy, assimilated Jews living in Döbling between ~1905 and 1939. I'm trying to locate the putative family villa through maps and photos of the area in that period. I'm not having a lot of success finding such things, though.<br /><br />Alas, a research trip to Vienna isn't in the cards anytime soon. Do you have any ideas where I could find helpful sources? Thanks in advance.Lance Charneshttp://www.wombatgroup.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-12072474573109518062015-09-26T22:00:09.975-07:002015-09-26T22:00:09.975-07:00Thanks for your note. Please feel free to use any ...Thanks for your note. Please feel free to use any of the photos for your blog. I hope you are enjoying life in Vienna. I am looking forward to spending some more time there in late October - early November. Dan Durninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639064524903151404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-63766978027172172422015-09-26T21:58:11.069-07:002015-09-26T21:58:11.069-07:00Sorry for no responding to your comment earlier. O...Sorry for no responding to your comment earlier. Our time in Vienna overlapped a bit. I was there during the 1967-68 school year at the Institute of European Studies. I lived in the 1st District, near Judenplatz, but never found cellars to explore. Dan Durninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639064524903151404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-46775643881640419212015-09-23T13:17:58.019-07:002015-09-23T13:17:58.019-07:00Hello Dan, I am Chen who is living in Vienna at th...Hello Dan, I am Chen who is living in Vienna at the moment. I am very interested on the repairing of the damaged apartments in Vienna, and am writing a blog for it. I wonder if it is possible for me to cite one of the photos in this blog, to show the damaged streets in Vienna? For sure I will make it clear that the photo is cited from you and K. Redl who delivered the photos. Please let me know what do you think, thanks a lot!chentravelstoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12098747444069636894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537999101514441161.post-63105931387878458852015-06-23T06:33:14.730-07:002015-06-23T06:33:14.730-07:00I lived in Vienna as a boy from 1963 to 1968---my ...I lived in Vienna as a boy from 1963 to 1968---my father was the head librarian of the IAEA. We lived in an apartment on the Hofzeile about halfway between Billrothstrasse and Doeblingerhauptstrasse. I often played in and explored the catacomb-like cellars of some buildings there that had vanished during the bombing. I used a flashlight to navigate and it was fascinating to see artifacts from the war period and the time before. That is a vanished world!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com